Diet for liver disease

The diet for liver disease is based on the “3 F” rule, excluding fatty, fried and yellow foods.

The main function of the liver is to cleanse the body of poisonous and toxic substances that enter with food. Long-term antibiotic treatment, alcohol abuse, gluttony, and a predominance of fatty and smoked foods all weaken the "protective barrier".

Liver diseases often occur in a latent form, are masked for many years, and manifest themselves only by pigmentation on the skin of the face or heaviness in the right hypochondrium. Hypothermia, stress, and the penetration of infections are factors that provoke liver failure.

Treatment of liver diseases (hepatitis, cirrhosis, cholecystitis, etc.) is a labor-intensive process using painkillers, anti-inflammatory, choleretic drugs. The success of treatment largely depends on adherence to a diet that restores liver function and normalizes metabolism. With liver pathologies, appetite often suffers, so food should be easily digestible and at the same time tasty. The daily diet is based on the principles of:

• the main place is occupied by easily digestible protein - up to 150 g (animal and vegetable in equal proportions);
• carbohydrate food – no more than 450 g, if the patient suffers from excess weight, then the quantitative content of carbohydrates is reduced;
• the percentage of fatty foods is determined on an individual basis; in order to improve the outflow of bile, the consumption of vegetable fats is increased;
• to reduce the load on the liver, products should be mashed, boiled, and chopped well;
• fractional meals rich in fiber are recommended;
• maximum 7-10 g of salt is allowed;
• you should drink 1.5-2 liters of water per day;
• It is recommended to cook by steaming, boiling or baking.

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What is the diet for liver disease?

The diet is made up depending on the type of liver pathology, individual characteristics of the organism. For example, the following diet is prescribed: in the morning on an empty stomach, a tablespoon of vodka with two tablespoons of cold-pressed olive oil, and half an hour later, oatmeal with flax seeds (cooked in water without salt) is eaten. Before lunch (10 minutes), a glass of water with half a lemon is drunk. This kind of cleansing helps to improve the outflow of bile, to establish the functioning of the liver. However, this diet for liver disease may be contraindicated if there is increased acidity of gastric juice. That is why you cannot self-medicate, relying on the advice of traditional medicine.

The diet is selected for each specific pathology together with the main treatment regimen, however, there are general nutritional rules:

• meat/fish – without fat, preferably cooked in a steamer;
• milk and fermented milk products - low-fat cottage cheese is allowed without restrictions, cream and sour cream are excluded from the diet. Ryazhenka is undesirable, as well as spicy, processed cheeses;
• bakery products - from coarse grades of flour, it is better to gnaw on crackers or stale crusts. Forget about pastries, buns, cakes, pastries for a while;
• first courses – vegetable soups with cereals. Vegetarian borscht is possible (without lard, fried vegetables, etc.). Meat and mushroom broths should not be prepared;
• vegetables/greens – allowed, except for tomatoes, radishes and horseradish. No onions, sorrel, spinach and garlic;
• Eggs - only boiled whites or omelettes from them. Whole eggs are allowed, but no more than two per week.

The list of products must be adjusted with the attending physician and remember that diet is an integral part of effective therapy.

Diet 5 for liver disease

Diet therapy is recommended to activate bile flow, reduce the load on the liver, and improve the functioning of the bile ducts if there are no gastrointestinal pathologies.

Diet No. 5 is prescribed:

• during recovery from acute stages of cholecystitis and hepatitis;
• during the rehabilitation period after cirrhosis without liver failure;
• to normalize liver function, with the exception of acute cholelithiasis, acute conditions resulting from chronic hepatitis and cholecystitis.

Diet 5 for liver disease is also recommended for dysfunctions of the pancreas and gallbladder:

Dishes/products	Allowed	Prohibited
Meat/poultry	Boiled (or baked) and lean meat: beef, veal, rabbit, lamb, chicken and turkey without skin; when preparing cutlets, use up to 2 egg whites	Meat with a layer of fat, including goose, duck; exclude semi-finished products and offal
Fish	Preference is given to low-fat sea and river fish, boiled/steamed, with the permission of the attending physician, stewed or baked in foil is possible	Smoked, salted and fatty fish, canned goods, caviar
Eggs	Maximum one yolk per day; preferably an egg white omelette or soft-boiled egg	Scrambled eggs, hard boiled
First courses	Vegetable or cereal soup, most vegetarian, cream and milk soups, as well as cold fruit soups	First courses on broths of meat, fish, mushrooms; okroshka, green borscht
Salads	From fresh, boiled vegetables, seasoned with vegetable oil; based on seafood, boiled fish/meat	With a spicy, tangy, fatty dressing
Bread	Stale bakery products, crackers; preference is given to products made from wholemeal flour	Pastries, puff pastries, fried pies
Cereals/pasta	Oatmeal, buckwheat, brown rice; durum wheat pasta	Porridge with lard, fried
Dairy products	Low-fat/fat-free – milk, kefir, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese (casseroles, cheesecakes, puddings, etc.); low-fat, mild cheeses	Fatty foods (more than 6%)
Vegetables/fruits/berries	Raw, baked, boiled; snacks with dill, parsley; dried fruits, excluding sour ones	Avoid eating sorrel, radish, horseradish, green onions, garlic, spinach, legumes, mushrooms, pickled vegetables/fruits
Sweet	Limit consumption of honey, sugar (it is better to use sugar substitutes), low-fat cottage cheese and berry desserts, jelly, mousse, compote	Chocolate products, fatty desserts, ice cream, pancakes, pies, cakes, pastries
Sauces/condiments	Based on low-fat sour cream, milk, vegetables; cinnamon, vanilla	Horseradish, mustard, pepper
Fat	Olive, flaxseed and other vegetable oils, butter in limited quantities	Lard, lard, ghee
Drinks	Green, white, herbal, weak black tea, coffee, you can add milk to taste; vegetable and fruit juices, rosehip decoction	Soda, cocoa, natural coffee

In the acute stage of problems with the liver, gall bladder, especially against the background of pancreatitis/gastritis, food should be mashed, steamed or boiled. Raw vegetables/fruits and black breads are prohibited during the diet.

In case of gallstone problems, sweets are completely excluded, and food is cooked in a steamer, boiled, or an oven and foil are used (meat should be baked after boiling). The diet for liver disease in this case requires monitoring the temperature of the food consumed, which should not exceed 60 ^o C and be less than 15 ^o C.

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Diet for liver diseases: recipes for every day

Dietary nutrition of a patient with various liver pathologies is necessary for:

• reducing the load on the diseased organ;
• removal of toxic and harmful elements contained in the liver;
• optimization of bile secretion and normalization of the functioning of the bile ducts.

Depending on the type of pathology, the method of food processing is selected, sometimes the only possible method is cooking using a steamer. The basis of the diet is: fresh fruits and vegetables, cereals, vegetarian soups, borscht, and milk soups.

Despite strict prohibitions and restrictions, the diet of a patient with liver pathology is balanced and complete. Diet for liver diseases recipes:

• Pumpkin and oatmeal puree soup - peeled pumpkin (100 g) is cut into small cubes and covered with cold water, boiled until half-cooked. Transfer the pumpkin to a deep frying pan and simmer under a lid with butter (1/2 tsp), add oatmeal (2 tbsp) and pour in a little pumpkin broth. Cook stirring constantly, then put the oatmeal and pumpkin mixture in a blender and grind. Add pumpkin broth, if allowed - sugar to taste and half a teaspoon of butter. Pumpkin can be replaced with zucchini;
• steamed beef cutlets - soak stale white bread (25 g) in milk or water. Clean beef (125 g) from tendons and fat. Make minced meat with bread using a meat grinder/blender. Add salt and water if necessary. Steam the formed cutlets for about 20 minutes. Before eating, pour vegetable or melted butter;
• Sponge cake based on egg whites - beat six egg whites with 1/3 cup of sugar (the amount of granulated sugar can be reduced). Carefully add a cup of crushed white crackers to the egg foam. Put half of the mixture in a baking pan greased with butter. Put 1-2 tablespoons of poppy seeds on top of the dough and pour the remaining protein mixture. Bake in the oven for about half an hour at 180 C. Remove the cooled sponge cake from the pan;
• Carrot and beetroot steam salad – steam beets and carrots, cut or grate on a coarse grater. Season with salt to taste and add vegetable oil.

Most of the usual dishes can be adapted to dietary nutrition, following the doctor's recommendations and abstaining from prohibited products.

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Diet for liver disease: a menu for everyone

The duration of diet therapy is discussed individually. Some patients adhere to the diet for several years, and in some cases fatty and fried foods must be avoided at all times.

Diet for liver disease menu:

• recommended breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese with sour cream, cottage cheese pudding, oatmeal, tea (possibly with milk);
• second meal – meat boiled in water or steamed, oatmeal, a slice of bread and juice; sometimes one baked apple is enough;
• lunch – vegetarian soup with vegetable oil, chicken or beef with rice, stewed zucchini, dried fruit compote or apple jelly;
• second lunch – rose hips in the form of a decoction;
• in the evening – mashed potatoes with steamed/boiled fish, cottage cheese casserole, tea with lemon/milk;
• before bed – 200 ml of kefir.

The daily amount of bread (preferably yesterday's wholemeal bread, crackers) is no more than 200 grams, sugar - up to 70 grams.

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Therapeutic diet for liver disease

Liver and gallbladder diseases develop due to excessive alcohol consumption, as a result of acute infectious conditions, poor and illiterate nutrition, as a result of genetic pathologies and metabolic problems.

The therapeutic diet for liver and bile duct disease depends on the stage of the disease and the patient's condition. Diet therapy includes general recommendations:

• the diet should be enriched with the required amount of easily digestible protein;
• The carbohydrate intake is selected based on body weight (excess weight is a reason to reduce the amount of carbohydrates);
• the amount of fat consumption is calculated individually. In some conditions, a choleretic effect is achieved. In order to avoid constipation, it is recommended to increase the consumption of vegetable oils;
• preference is given to mashed and chopped products, boiled in water or steamed;
• the basis of nutrition is dietary fiber;
• It is important to monitor the patient's multivitamin levels;
• Frequent meals in small portions have a beneficial effect on the absorption and digestion of food.

A diet for liver disease involves excluding excessively hot or cold dishes. Ice cream, ice water, etc. can provoke spasms, pain syndrome, and even hepatic colic.